Can cranberries really prevent this uncomfortable infection?

Cranberry juice is widely known to be a diuretic, and has also been touted as a natural remedy for urinary tract infections (UTIs). But what is it about this berry that can protect men and women in Houston from these painful and incredibly uncomfortable afflictions? One research team at McGill University in Montreal sought to find out.

Nathalie Tufenkji, an associate professor at the university, has led two separate studies to explore how cranberries may guard the urinary tract from various bacteria including Proteus mirabilis, which is commonly associated with UTIs.

Tufenkji and her team found that the presence of cranberry powder could prevent this bacterium from spreading on an agar plate, and that the greater amount of this compound introduced, the lower the infectiousness of the bacterium.

"While the effects of cranberry in living organisms remain subject to further study, our findings highlight the role that cranberry consumption might play in the prevention of chronic infections," Tufenkji explained in a university press release.

The second study involved the benefits of this berry in a different form – as cranberry-enriched silicone substrates – and revealed that they could potentially prevent germs from thriving in implantable medical devices, the source states.

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